Show Title: Authentic Parent Partnerships with Ari Gerzon-Kessler
Power Quote:
Description:
Imagine that we have some time scheduled to meet together. What would you want to talk about? And how would I know what you wanted to talk about? You would either have had to tell me, or I would have had to ask. And if neither of those things happened before the meeting, we might both be a bit disappointed after the meeting. Now think about the classic parent-teacher conference:· Do all families want to know the same thing?· How do teachers know what families want to know?· If we get it right, what are the implication?· If we get it wrong, what are the implications? We talk about presence a lot on this show, and today, we are focusing our presence on families.
Guest Bio:
Ari Gerzon-Kessler is author of On The Same Team: Bringing Educators & Underrepresented Families Together, which won the Independent Publishers Book Awards 2024 IPPY Gold Medal for outstanding education book. He is a speaker, trainer, and coach working with schools and districts committed to forging stronger school-family partnerships. Ari also leads the Family Partnerships department for the Boulder Valley School District (CO).
Ari has been an educator since 2000, having served as a principal and bilingual teacher. His leadership efforts to strengthen partnerships with underrepresented families and dismantle unjust practices was featured in Education Week in 2015. Ari regularly presents at national and international conferences on Families and Educators Together (FET) teams and other innovative family partnership best practices. He received his bachelor’s in African American Studies from Wesleyan University and a master’s in instruction and curriculum from the University of Colorado.
Warmup questions:
· We always like to start with a celebration. What are you celebrating today?
· Is there a story that will help listeners understand why you are doing what you do?
Questions/Topics/Prompts
- Big picture paradigm shift of what family partnerships actually mean
- Systems requirements for making the shift (FET)
- “The” first step an AP can make in this direction - could be internal or external, but I like for people to have one or two things they can take away from the episode and apply immediately.
Closing questions:
· What part of your own leadership are you still trying to get better at?
· If listeners could take just one thing away from today’s podcast, what would it be?
· Before we go, is there anything else that you’d like to share with our listeners?
· Where can people learn more about you and your work…
Close
· Leadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.
· Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
· Have a great rest of the week, be present for others and, more importantly, take time to reflect and recover so you can continue to live and lead better.
· Cheers!
Ari’s links:
Frederick’s Links: